Late Night Feelings
by RobotPandaKey
Summary: Max has nightmares. Chloe is shit at comforting people.


Max awoke to her phone buzzing on her desk, the vibrations making her teeth shake. She slowly sat up from her awkward position and stretched, feeling a painful crick in her neck. _Nice one, "super Max." That's what you get for not sleeping in your bed like a normal fucking human._

Not that she would've gotten much sleep. Not only did her friend's countless deaths affect her during the day, but they haunted her dreams as well. The photographer rubbed at her eyes before directing her attention to the now silent phone. Unlocking it, she saw that she had a new message from Chloe:

 _yo max let me in_

Sighing, Max typed a message as quickly as she could with her tired thumbs and eyes:

 _I don't have food, no munchies for thee._

To Chloe's credit, her reply was fast enough so Max didn't fall asleep again:

 _dude im not high pls_

This must be serious if Chloe had used "please," no matter how short. Max reluctantly left her chair and pulled one of her many hoodies. She glanced to the side and saw her reflection staring back. _Zombie-face…_

Her eyes had gigantic bags under them and a bit of dried blood ran down to her lip. Tear tracks trailed down her cheeks, all dried and beginning to flake off. She had probably cried during her most recent nightmare. She knew if anyone else was up at this hour -1:30, to be exact- they would probably notice her current condition.

"Chloe, I swear to God this had better be good," Max muttered.

Luckily, she was the only one up, and about a minute later she had unlocked the door and was standing face to face with Chloe, who wore a concerned expression as soon as she spotted Max.

"Jesus, Max. You look like shit."

"Hello to you too," Max grumbled before stepping aside, allowing Chloe to enter the dorm. Max trailed slowly after Chloe as they climbed the stairs, all of her efforts focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Chloe would glance over her shoulder every so often, her concerned expression growing each time. Normally Max would notice such an awkward atmosphere, but she was too tired to give a shit.

After what felt like a year, the pair arrived in Max's room. Chloe kicked off her boots and plopped onto Max's bed, scooting as close as she could to the wall without disturbing any of Max's photos. Past the point of caring, Max lay down next to her and felt her friend's arms wrap around her. They lay in silence for a few moments and Max had almost drifted off before Chloe spoke.

"Max?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

Max didn't answer at first, her mind thinking up excuses. _No, Max,_ she scolded herself. _This is Chloe. You can tell her anything._

"I…no," she whispered.

Chloe's arms tightened around her waist, bringing the two friends closer. "Well," she said, her tone an attempt at playfulness. "Dr. Chloe is in the house. Tell me your woes."

Max hesitated again. _It's just Chloe… C'mon, idiot._ "I…I've seen some fucked up shit."

Chloe chuckled softly. "We all have, Maxi-pad."

Max shook her head, tears starting to leak from her tightly shut eyes. "You don't know Chloe. You don't understand."

"Then make me understand. I've seen some nasty shit too; you'll have to be more specific."

Max breathed a shuddering sigh. "You do know that you're super duper important to me right?"

"You have a funny way of showing it, but sure."

"I mean it, Che. There wasn't a single day where I didn't think of you when I was in Seattle. But that's not the point right now."

"Then stop stalling and get to the point."

"I've seen you die."

Chloe froze. "Well yeah, in the bathroom, but that's-"

"No, Chloe!" Max said, pushing herself away from her friend. She stood up, fury burning in her eyes as her pent up emotions were taken out on Chloe. "I've seen you die so many times that I've lost count! Hell, I've seen you die in so many _ways_ that I've lost count! And each and every time, I can't do anything but rewind and hope I can fix it. But then it never happened so it's not like I can really talk about it!" Max turned away then, attempting to hide her tears. "I've seen you fucking shoot yourself! I've seen you get hit by a fucking train! Do you have any idea how that feels!?"

"Max…"

"And then you treat my powers like they're a fucking joke for your own amusement. Well guess what, Chloe!? They aren't, and I wouldn't wish this curse on my worst enemy! How many more times will I be able to save you!?"

"Max…I don't…"

"How many more times do I have to watch you die!? How many more times… will I be left all alone…?"

Chloe stared at her friend in shock, unable to form words.

"I may not know what it feels like to lose my dad," Max whispered, turning her watery gaze to the floor. "But have you ever seen the most important person in your life die over and over and over, each one more fucked up than the last?"

Max heard the creaking of bedsprings as Chloe rose behind her. She felt a slightly trembling hand rest on her shoulder and heard a dejected sigh from her blue haired companion.

"Look, Max…uh…Fuck, I'm really bad at this feely shit…"

Max chuckled mirthlessly. "Yeah, I noticed."

"Could you just shut up so I can be the emotionally supportive best friend? Jesus."

"…"

"Alright so like… We're all trying to find our place in the world, right? And I sure as hell haven't found mine. And yours at this point is saving my sorry ass."

"Gee, I feel better already."

"Eat me. Point is… Fuck, I don't know what the point is."

Max shrugged off Chloe's hand and walked towards the couch. "I knew you wouldn't understand," she whispered sadly.

"No, Max! I get it, really I do!"

Max stopped, her hand holding her arm protectively.

Chloe cautiously approached the shorter girl and gently pried her hand away so she could wrap her arms around Max's waist. "God, I'm such a shitty friend. I'm sorry, Max."

Max tensed up as if she were going to respond, but Chloe beat her to it. "I know that's not enough Max, and if I was in your position… Shit… I wouldn't be able to do it. I wouldn't be able to react or go on. But you can. You save me again and again… Why?"

Max turned around, her tears still flowing and her eyes red and puffy. She didn't attempt to free herself from Chloe's hold; instead she wrapped her own arms around Chloe's neck and buried her face in her shoulder. "Because I don't think I could ever lose you. I love you, Chloe Price."

The last sentence was so quiet that Chloe almost didn't hear it. "Max Caulfield," she chided, her trademark shit-eating grin growing on her face. "I didn't think you had it in you."

Max slowly raised her head to meet Chloe's gaze and saw… happiness. She saw a brand new Chloe, a brand new Arcadia, a brand new _world_. Max felt all of her worries float away like a butterfly catching the wind. For once, she felt alive. For one blissful second, she forgot she had powers. She forgot that she had seen Chloe, broken and bloody, die countless times, her smile forever lost. But at this second, said smile was spreading on her face, as if it had never been gone.

Max tangled her hand into the blue locks of hair at the nape of Chloe's neck and gently pulled her down to her level. Chloe studied Max's face, as if asking permission, before closing the rest of the gap between them and gently placing her lips on Max's. For both girls, it was as if the world was holding its breath. The kiss was sweet, never intruding or making either of them uncomfortable. It was just a simple kiss.

Max was the first to pull away, her breathing only slightly quicker than before. Chloe was about to attempt to recapture the shorter girl's lips when she noticed her eyelids drooping. Chloe chuckled before scooping the photographer up into a bridal hold.

"Chloe, what the hell!?"

"Sweetie, I think it's past your bedtime," she mocked lightly before setting Max onto her bed. She slipped in after her and wrapped her arms around her waist.

"It was literally five feet; I could've walked."

"Shh, no dreams, only sleep."

"That was really creepy."

Chloe kissed Max's cheek lightly. "I love you, too."

"Creepiness aside, I just have one question."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you show up at my dorm in the middle of the night?"

"Uh… I wanted to see my awesome best friend?"

Max raised an eyebrow and Chloe relented. "Yeah okay, fine. You know the cozy chair?"

"Oh my God Chloe, you did not…"

"No, not yet. I wanted to know if you still had that pipe bomb you mentioned."

" _Chloe…"_


End file.
